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Game Info
When: Tuesday, Jan. 24, 7 p.m. Eastern Time
Where: Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.
TV: CSN Mid-Atlantic
Radio: 1500 AM and Wizards Radio App
Injury Report
Wizards: Ian Mahinmi (Out, Knee), Danuel House (Out, Wrist)
Celtics: Avery Bradley (Out, Achilles), Gerald Green (Out, Illness), Demetrius Jackson (Out, Illness)
What to watch for
How well will John Wall play?
Nine times out of ten, this is always what you look for from John Wall. But last time these two teams saw each other, Wall shot just 19 percent from the field and missed 17 of his 21 shots. That was the game he injured his right pinky finger and his wrist ended up swollen by the night’s end. Those injuries affected his shooting, but so did the Celtics’ defense.
Wall hasn’t traditionally struggled against the Celtics and is obviously the Wizards’ most critical player. Look for a bounce back game from him.
Who do the Celtics rely on as a secondary scorer?
With Avery Bradley out still struggling to recover from a previous Achilles injury, the Celtics will need to find more scoring from somewhere. Bradley is their second leading scorer and a great three point shooter. Still, the Celtics are still one of the best offensive teams in the league. In the last 10 games, the Celtics are scoring 108.7 points per 100 possessions. That ranks as the 7th best mark in the league.
Whether it’s Isaiah Thomas dropping 30 or more or someone else picking up the slack, the Wizards will still have to play stellar defense to stop this team.
Oh it’s lit
The #Wizards will come to the arena tomorrow in all black b4 for Round 3 vs #Celtics. Kelly Oubre: "You know where we're going with that."
— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) January 24, 2017
Beal came up w/ the idea for the #Wizards to wear all black tomorrow. Teammates agreed. Even 2nite, guys were amped for the game.
— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) January 24, 2017
Me to John Wall: "All black everything?"
— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) January 24, 2017
Wall: "A black everything. A fun-er-ral!"
Beal in background: "Yaa."
Most Likely Wizards Killer: Jae Crowder
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Jae Crowder is the easy pick here. With the bad blood between him and the Wizards, he’s likely going to try to put his stamp on the game early. During the last outing, Crowder went crazy from deep hitting four of six shots from long range.
Crowder is a very good defender who is willing to take the best perimeter assignment. That, in combination with his shooting this season, makes him dangerous. Not to mention that he’s likely to actually tackle Wall at some point during the game.
The Wizards have to make sure they cover Crowder from deep and stop him from getting clean looks. If they can keep him out of the game on the offensive end it will go a long way in ensuring another win and keeping their home winning streak alive.